Children exposed to poverty and trauma more likely to offend as adults – study

People who have suffered extreme difficulties as a child or young person are more likely to commit crimes later in life, research has revealed.

Childhood experiences such as poverty, maltreatment, school exclusion and police contact are associated with serious offending and frequent criminal convictions in adulthood, the study shows.

The study, done by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, tracked and examined more than 4,300 people who had some involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour from age 12 to 35 years.

A quarter of those participants had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 35.

These ranged from minor offences such as theft and speeding offences to more severe criminal offences such as assaults.

While most people stopped offending in their teenage years, researchers found that drug use during adolescence, being a repeated victim of crime, and having an impulsive personality were associated with continuing to offend into early middle age for some.

A history of adverse childhood experiences and trauma in adulthood, such as bereavement, relationship breakdown, and having a serious accident or illness, also made people more prone to being exposed to or involved in crime.

Professor Lesley McAra, of Edinburgh Law School and co-director of the study, said: “People who have contact with the criminal justice system are not necessarily more likely to stop offending than those who do not.

“In fact, for some people, justice system contact may act as a catalyst for continued offending into adulthood.”

The findings are from the latest report of the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

Professor Susan McVie, also co-director of the study, said: “Our research suggests that justice system intervention can only be effective in preventing offending and conviction if it works in parallel with other policy responses, such as increasing educational attainment, reducing child poverty, improving adolescent health and well-being, and dealing effectively with child maltreatment.”

Since 1998, researchers at the university have been recording the pathways into and out of offending of young people from secondary school age.

Commenting on the study, Rob Street, of the Nuffield Foundation, said: “This latest report provides further vital insight into the lasting effects of adversity experienced in both childhood and early adulthood and highlights the need for a joined-up approach to reducing offending.”